Safety First, Style Second: Bold Bike Accessories

The more I hear about bike accidents the more excited I am about stylish bike safety. Wearing a Bern helmet and bike lights are not enough. And with Burning Man less than a month away, channel your inner playa baby with some tricked out bike accessories that help ward away potential road damage.

The simplest approach is via BikeWrappers ($45). This system features highly reflective pieces you can wrap around your frame. By day, they're decorative, but once headlights go on, they are blinding accident blockers. They are reversible and easy to remove and come in an array of prints and colors. They are visible from a quarter mile away from car headlights and also protect your bike from scratches and grime. Go big with neon, or go minimal with white.

For a more custom DIY tactic, check out Bright Thread. These are reflective adhesive stripes you can wrap around your frame. The retroreflective vinyl is the same material used on the backs of running shoes, but with colors. They come in $18 kits consisting of ¼ inch thin strips that run along the length of tubes (for something more subtle) or 1-inch bands and stripes for a cool carnival look. Seven colors, lots of fun.

Or, light up your life. Go all out with a playa-inspired BikeGlow™ Safety Light ($25) from Mike's Bikes. While you're there, grab a couple Cat Eye's Orbit lights for your wheels; at $20 for two, these easily pop onto your wheels and have two modes, constant or flashing, depending on how disco you want to go.

And because I can't resist, and white leather and cycling go so well together, consider REI's Electra Leather Streamers ($14) in white for a finishing touch.